Suggested Summer Listening Selections!

SUMMER IS A GREAT TIME TO EXPLORE MUSIC AND ART! Summer is also a time when you can weave new habits into your life, especially if you’ve been intending to incorporate good music and art.

Below I’ve listed five different collections of pieces, two of which are narrated. I’ve included links to their listings in Amazon. You don’t have to turn each set of compositions into a formal lesson. Simply play them. Make them part of the background. Start by hearing them, having your children get accustomed to hearing classical music in their environment. Let them enjoy the stories that are told. Later, encourage them to create their own stories to accompany “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream,” “The Four Seasons,” and “Appalachian Spring.” Consider these as part of music library to enjoy for a lifetime. We certainly have!

“Peter and the Wolf,” Prokovief and “The Carnival of the Animals,” Saint Saens, along with Benjamin Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra” well narrated by Leonard Bernstein. Children’s Classics.

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A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream“, Felix Mendelssohn

“A Midsummer’s Nights’ Dream ~ Previn” Andre Previn conducting the London Symphony Orchestra is considered a classic recording of this piece. Oh! How I danced and danced to this music as a little girl! I absolutely adored it. You’ll recognize the familiar wedding march in the middle.

This is an absolutely stunning execution and historically accurate interpretation! If you thought this piece was boring, you’ve not heard it properly played. I was mesmerized.

“Appalachian Spring,” Aaron Copland. You will also enjoy the other pieces on this CD as they sound just like movie soundtracks. Your boys will enjoy “Rodeo” and “Billy the Kid.” “Fanfare for the Common Man” sounds wonderfully patriotic, especially as it was composed to honor the WWII war dead.